Woodwind musical instrument



May 13, 1952 R. J. LINTON wooDwIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Fiied Nov. 22, 1948 INVENTOR. BY cf. ,4//7/0/7 Patented May 13, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WOGDWIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Roy Jackson Linton, Elkhart, Ind.

Application November 22, 1948, Serial No. 61,351

s claims. (c1. sla-380) This invention relates to improvements in moistureproof liner for woodwind musical instruments.

The principal objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a musical instrument of the Woodwind type such as oboes, bassoons and clarineteI with a lining which will prevent moisture from being absorbed into the wood of the instrument and causing the instrument to crack.

Second, to provide a liner for a woodwind instrument which prevents cracking of the instrument and improves the quality of tone produced by the instrument.

Third, to provide a liner for a wooden musical instrument which will prevent cracking of the instrument and which does not require any changes in the shape of the instrument or location of tone holes over the corresponding construction of an instrument without a liner.

Other objects and advantages relating to details of my instrument will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and claims.

The drawings of which there is one sheet, illustrate two forms of my liner as applied to a musical instrument.

Fig. 1 is a plan vieW partially in dotted outline of an oboe embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan View partially in longitudinal section of the upper joint of the oboe shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan View partially in longitudinal cross section of a modified form of upper joint, the keys and tone holes being omitted.

As is well known, musical instruments such as the oboe, bassoon, and the clarinet are made from hard dense wood and have a central bore or tone column formed therethrough. Tone holes for producing various notes are bored at intervals into the tone columns and keys and levers for playing the instrument are mounted on the outside of the instrument. Instruments of this type are commonly divided in sections referred to as joints so that they can be taken down and packed in relatively short cases. It is common knowledge among musicians and musical instrument manufacturers that a large percentage of wooden instruments crack after prolonged use due to moisture from the musicians breath accumulating in the wood along the tone column and causing the wood to crack. Most of this cracking, is in the upper end of the upper joint where the accumulation of moisture is the greatest and since musical instruments of this type are relatively expensive, the loss to the musician is considerable.

In the drawings I have illustrated a conventional oboe l having an upper joint 2 and pro vided with the usual tone holes 3 and operating keys and mechanism 4. The lower end of the joint is provided with a nipple 5 carrying the cork packing 6 by means of which a tight connection is obtained between the joints of the instrument. The upper end of the joint has mounted therein a socket 1 for receiving the reed 8. The interior of the joint 2 defines a tapered passage or tone column 9.

The construction thus far described is more or less standard for oboes and instruments of this type and my invention lies in inserting the hard rubber liner I0 in the upper end of the tone column 9. To accomplish this the upper end of the joint is provided with a cylindrical bore Il, preferably of the same diameter as the socket 'l and extending somewhat over half the length of the upper joint 2. The liner I0 in the form of a hard rubber rod of proper diameter is then forced into the bore Il into tight abutting relationship with the shoulder I2 at thelower end of the bore. If desired a coating of adhesive may be applied between the liner and the body ofthe joint but this is generally not necessary if care is taken to obtain a tight iit between the liner and the body of the instrument. rIhe liner IB is then internally bored to complete the tapered tone column 9 just as if the column 9 were being formed throughout its length directly in the wooden body of the joint. The tone holes are then formed into the tone column in the usual manner and those which are located along the liner I0 are bored through the liner in the same manner as those positioned lower down on the joint.

A liner of this type effectively prevents the entrance of moisture into the grain of the wood and thus prevents cracking of the joints and at the same time does not harmfully effect the tone quality of the instrument. In fact, I have found that there is a slightly improved tone quality in instruments having the liner.

In the modified form of joint illustrated in Fig. 3 the liner 10A is extended along the complete length of the joint between the nipple 5 and socket 1, Because of the relatively long length of the liner it is impractical to insert a straight cylindrical liner as too much of the body of the joint would be cut away near the upper end of the joint. The liner IUA is therefore tapered in outside diameter and tted into a 3 tapered bore Within the body 2A of the joint. After being tted in the body the liner H3A is bored to form the tapered tone column just as in the case of an all wood instrument and the tone holes and keys are added.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a musical instrument having an upper` joint of wood with a tapered tone column extending therethrough, a liner of hard rubber extending over half -the length of said column from the upper end thereof, said liner having a cylindrical outer surface closely fitting the inside of said joint and forming a tapered passage formed as a continuation of the tone column in the lower end of said joint, and a socket element in the upper end of said joint adapted to receive a reed and communicating with said passage, the inner end of said socket tightly abutting against the end of said liner.

2. In a musical instrument having an upper joint of Wood with a tone column extending therethrough and tapered along its lower end, a liner of hard rubber extending over half the length of said column from the upper end thereof, said liner having a cylindrical outer surface closely fitting the inside of said joint and forming a tapered passage formed as a continuation of the tapered portion of the tone column in the lower end of said joint.

3. In a musical instrument having an upper joint of wood with a tone column extending therethrough and tapered along its lower end, a liner of hard rubber extending partially along the length of said column from the upper end thereof, said liner having a cylindrical outer surface closely fitting the inside ofsaid joint, said liner being bored to form a tapered passage formed as a continuation of the tone column in the lower end of said joint.

In a musical instrument having a joint of wood with a tone column extending therethrough and opening through a reed receiving socket to the upper end of the joint, a liner of relatively rigid nonmetallic moisture impervious material extending over at least part of the length of said column from the upper end thereof, said liner having a cylindrical outer surface closely fitting the inside of said joint and forming a passage which constituteis at least part of said tone column.

5. The method of manufacturing a wood wind instrument comprising `the steps of, forming a wooden upper joint, forming a tapered bore extending therethrough, positioning a liner of hard rubber rod in close fitting relationship in said bore substantially throughout the length thereof, and boring said liner to form a tapered tone column therein.

6. The method of manufacturing a wood wind instrument comprising the steps of, forming a wooden joint, forming a bore at least part way through said joint, positioning a liner of rigid nonmetallic moisture impervious rod material in closely fitting relationship in said bore substantially throughout the length thereof, and boring said liner to form a tapered tone column therein.

7. A wood wind instrument having a Wooden joint with a bore extending therethrough and a liner of rigid nonmetallic moisture impervious material positioned in said bore, said liner having a tone column formed therein and an outer surface closely engaging the inside of said joint, the thickness of said liner being such that its walls will be self-sustaining independently of said joint.

8. A woodwind nistrument having a wooden joint with a passage extending therethrough and a liner of rigid nonmetallic moisture impervious material positioned in said passage, said liner extending from its upper end downwardly part way along the length of said passage, said liner having an cuter surface closely engaging the adjacent surface of said passage, the thiol:- ness of said liner being such thatits Walls Will be selfsustaining independently of said joint, said liner having a tapered tone column formed longitudinally therethrough, the lower end of the passage in said joint forming a tapered continuation of said tone column in said liner.

ROY JACKSON LIJTON.

REFERENCES @ETCEE The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 5%,510 Pruefer ept, 3, 1895 968,694 Rubright Aug. 30, 1910 1,891,690 Pruefer Apr. 21, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 43,159 Germany Jan.. 30, 1889 651,031 France Feb. 13, 1929 

